Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Chargrilled Oysters

Oysters on the half shell done NOLA style, filled with a lemony, garlicky, butter sauce that are topped with cheese and chargrilled until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown. (Serve with crusty bread to soak up all of that buttery saucy goodness!)

Valentine’s Day is this weekend and I have been testing out some new recipes for that special day and since oysters are a common food for Valentine’s Day I started with some chargrilled oysters. I first had chargrilled oysters when I visited New Orleans a few years ago and they were one of the dishes that I ate while there that really stuck out in my mind so it seemed only natural to try to make them at home. Chargrilled oysters are basically oysters on the half shell that are filled with a lemony, garlicky, butter sauce, topped with cheese and chargrilled until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown. You really cannot go wrong with a sauce like that and they are usually served with bread so that you can soak up all of that buttery sauces goodness! If you don’t have a grill, or you just don’t feel like firing it up or if it’s buried under 2 feet of snow you can charbroil them instead; they won’t be quite the same but they will still be amazing and you can always add a touch of liquid smoke to the butter sauce to get that smoky/charred flavour. Although a bit decadent these chargrilled oysters are perfect for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day and they make an amazing appetizer before the main event! Mardi Gras is next week and these chargrilled oysters are a great way to bring a little bit of New Orleans into your home to celebrate!

Chargrilled Oysters

Oysters on the half shell done NOLA style, filled with a lemony, garlicky, butter sauce that are topped with cheese and chargrilled until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown. (Serve with crusty bread to soak up all of that buttery saucy goodness!)

ingredients

1 stick butter, room temperature or melted

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 tablespoons lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

12 oysters on the half shell

1/2 cup pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

directions

Place the oysters on a preheated 350F/180C grill, let cook until the juice start to bubble, spoon in ~1 tablespoon of the butter mixture onto each oyster, sprinkle on the cheese and cook until the cheese is golden brown.

Sprinkle on the parsley and serve immediately with extra butter, lemon wedges, hot sauce and bread.

Note: If it’s too cold to head outside and use the grill, broil them in your oven. Place the oysters on a baking sheet, spoon in a tablespoon of the butter mixture into each oyster, top with the cheese and bake in a preheated 400F oven until the juices start to bubble, about 5 minutes, turn the oven up to broil and broil until the cheese is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. If you want the smoky char grilled flavour, feel free to add a few drops of liquid smoke to the butter mixture.

That looks delicious. You have mentioned "…oysters are a common food for Valentine's Day…" I didn't know that. Thanks for great news. I love oysters and I love VD. Maybe you should add some chili in order to spice up the experience?! 😉

These were perfect, tasted just like the chargrilled ostyers you can find in the French Quarter. Thank you for the recipe, I have been seaching for a match to Nola ostyers and this was it. I had family members new to ostyers licking their shells clean.

I remember when Drago's in Metairie came up with these. They had just been a good Greek restaurant but these catapulted them into one of NOLA's favorites. One thing that will make it a little easier: Put a layer of rock salt in a rimmed sheet pan. Put the oysters on the salt and it will be much easier to put them on the grill and take them off without spilling any of the "juice."

These are spectacular! A couple of times a month, we do raw oysters with lemon & hot sauce appetizers on a Saturday night. Decided to try this for a change and oyster night has now officially been elevated! Thanks for this recipe!

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I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.Read More